North Korea tests missiles — and China's patience — on eve of Winter Olympics | NK News
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November 07, 2024
Analysis

North Korea tests missiles — and China’s patience — on eve of Winter Olympics

Experts say Kim Jong Un looks to take advantage of distracted US, but that Beijing has nearly had enough

Kim Jong Un’s hint that his country would “reconsider” its moratorium on long-range missile tests gained a bit more oomph last Sunday when it launched an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM). But experts say the latest launch — not to mention the six other tests in January alone — could strain China’s patience as Beijing looks to be the only one launching fireworks when the Winter Olympics kick off later this week.

So far, however, China has been forbearing. After a spate of ballistic missile tests early last month, China and Russia blocked a U.S. push for additional U.N. sanctions against Pyongyang. And after Sunday’s test of a missile capable of striking U.S. territory, Beijing’s special representative for Korean Peninsula affairs simply tweeted that Beijing has the confidence to overlook “distractions.”

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